THE DAILY BEACON
Tennessee soccer begins SEC play with high expectations
Leah Klurman (21) defends against Memphis at Regal Soccer Stadium. Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024.
- Kinley Sanderson / The Daily Beacon
Joe Kirt thinks his Tennessee soccer team has all of the pieces to compete for an SEC championship this season.
The 10-match slate starts Thursday against Ole Miss before the league’s tournament in Pensacola, Florida. Between now and then, Kirt expects Tennessee’s defense to carry the team through the conference schedule.
“The opportunity is there,” Kirt said. “We have got to continue to be dialed in defensively, but that gives us a chance. We’re going to have to come up against some teams that are pretty good attacking teams.”
Alongside that defensive effort, Tennessee will look to improve its goal-scoring as the season goes on. It looks to get more players into the box, so that when crosses come in, there are more targets available.
Pushing midfielders into the attacking area has given the Lady Vols plenty of opportunities this season. It’s how they found the breakthrough goal against
No. 15 Memphis and how they look to continue gaining chances as the season progresses.
“Our goal being scored, Mac was a midfielder in the box there, and even Jenna’s goal that was called back due to offside,” Kirt said. “It’s another midfielder inside the six-yard box or close to the six-yard box.”
Mac Midgley and Sammi Woods play a crucial role in Tennessee’s attack. As attacking midfielders, Tennessee’s offense flows through them as they try to both directly develop chances and find forwards for goals.
Midgley and Woods have done well to get themselves goal-scoring opportunities, but the next step in their progress will be finding ways to be more active in Tennessee’s build-up.
“Each game is a little different in what their primary role is, and I think they did a really good job playing off our forwards in the Memphis game,” Kirt said. “A lot of their time off the ball was coming off some of those combinations. … But I think they can be more prevalent and prominent in our build up and kind of getting into the final third.”
Alongside that offensive presence, Tennessee will continue to be strong defensively. The Lady Vols enter Thursday’s match against Ole Miss with a six-match clean sheet streak dating back to the second game of the season.
As Tennessee looks to win its first conference championship in Kirt’s tenure, it will rely on its back line that gave it so much success so far this season, including the first top-10 win in three years. When conference play begins on Thursday, nothing there will change.
“Defense wins championships, right?” Kirt said. “I’m pretty good there.”
A look at the Rebels
Ole Miss enters SEC play with a 5-4-0 record, finishing its non-conference slate with a 1-4 loss to Lipscomb on Sunday. The game was a rare example of an opponent finding a way to break through against the Rebels.
Like Memphis, Ole Miss will be a tough opponent to break down. The Rebels allowed one goal per game on average during non-conference play and limited No. 5 Michigan State to just one goal, something only one other team has achieved this season.
However, the way they do so is unique. The Rebels allow opponents to get shots away, but they do well to make sure they don’t end up on goal. The Lady Vols will try to generate solid opportunities against Ole Miss’ back line.
“This is a little different in terms of their style,” Kirt said. “We’ve got to once again adapt to our opponent and still be true to ourselves, but find solutions to what they’re going to pose, which will be organized and difficult to break down.”